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Lawrence Singer: Boulder County election process is not transparent

Posted:
10/11/2012 01:00:00 AM MDT

We forget that citizens should be in control of elections and not the government. The integrity of the upcoming election is ominous. Obviously Boulder and the County Clerk's office is under direct Democratic Party control. But other parties and voters (unaffiliated, Republicans, libertarians, American Constitution, greens, socialists) have statutory rights to meaningful observation and verification.

After being sworn in Monday as a watcher for the Republican Party, I asked to witness the overseas ballots and other aspects of the election process. These Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act paper, fax and email ballots are sent from military personnel serving overseas. They deserve to know that their ballot is accurately counted. I was denied access to the work in progress and told to watch from the reception area 30-feet away from the processing.

What a dramatic change in election process! Traditional voters showed up on election day to a neighborhood precinct. Local election judges and watchers representing different political parties were present to keep an eye on each other, a crucial part of America's system of checks and balances. Now 80 percent of the vote in Colorado comes from mail-in and early ballots.

Updated processes for performance, training and verification have not been established and new equipment for some functions is uncertified. The Secretary of State has issued new pro-transparency guidelines but they are being ignored. Thus official watchers are made to stay outside like dogs.

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When societies go to great length to avoid transparency I wonder what they are trying to hide. Some people are smirking and winking at the control the Democrats have in Boulder in this election. But with our educated and progressive population I would expect more people to be outraged. Because once our election process looses its credibility, where does America go from there?

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